I was all set to write about Paula Fox's The Coldest Winter today, but I've sort of run out of steam so will save it for the weekend and tell you about it next week. Instead, I came across an interesting article about Fox in The Telegraph. If you are at all interested in reading her work (and from the two books now I've read, I highly recommend her), do check it out. She's a fascinating woman. I've started 'collecting' her books and now plan on reading some of her fiction after admiring her memoirs so much.
I'm on a bit of a roll when it comes to memoirs. Two by Paula Fox, one by Diana Athill, and now I've moved on to Jennifer Worth's very engrossing Call the Midwife. As much as I would like to accept more review copies, with the general busy-ness at work and not having enough reading time to squeeze in all my other books, I rarely take any on. I was instantly curious, however, when author Kim Tucker approached me about reading her book, Under the Banana Moon: Living, Loving, Loss and Asperger's. I'm sorry to say I know very little about Asperger's, but reading Tucker's memoir should help shed more light on it for me.
"To Kim Tucker, solidly in the Asperger's section of the autism spectrum, the colors blue and green and gray are not just colors, but rather whole worlds of iridescent life. Likewise, to say that Under the Banana Moon is full of laughter and love and heartbreak is to only scratch the surface."
I'm planning on reading it as soon as I finish Jennifer Worth's book.
Since I have finished a book (loved it and another one to write about this weekend), I've tentatively chosen P.G. Wodehouse's A Damsel in Distress that I was just talking about as my next read. A little comic relief does sound in order about now. Anything to laugh off the crummy weather we've been having (and that I am trying hard not to complain about). Although not a Jeeves and Wooster novel, it will be my first official Wodehouse! Many thanks to those who shared their own comfort reads. I've been mentally adding them to lists.
When you are busy doing something tedious, and you can't pull out a book to read, yet whatever you're doing doesn't require all your attention, do you ever fill the space with thoughts about books? I do. It can get me into a lot of trouble really. For example, a few meanderings I had . . .
- Today I was thinking about how awful I'm doing reading from my set of Penguin Great Food books. Maybe I should skip ahead to Samuel Pepys. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's straightforward cookery (albeit from the 1600s!).
- I was thinking about the list of books I made to read from this year and how well I began but now seem to be neglecting. I still want to read all the books from the list, but it's a matter of being able to spend a bit of time with one of them to actually get into the story. I'd pulled out a novel by Daphne du Maurier to read next but haven't had a chance to begin it properly.
- Then I was thinking how I have not been reading many classics or mysteries either (not that one has anything to do with the other necessarily but I like to read both types of books but have been reading either of late).
- And how I really need to read more literature by Southern writers. Am thinking at the moment about Carson McCullers and Eudora Welty.
- And then wishful thinking about summer vacation (despite the cold and rain and nasty dampness) how it might be time to think again about summering in Italy. Warmth, sunshine, the Tuscan valley maybe. Sounds nice, don't you think? Maybe an Andrea Camilleri Sicilian mystery?
- And I've been thinking how I am not doing very well reading books of letters (or epistolary novels) either. Oh the list of what I want to read but don't have time for is a long one.
But a person can only do so much, right? And I am still reading lots of good books, so I have no complaint over what I am reading (just what I am not reading, it would seem). And the weekend is nearly upon us and there will be more opportunities for uninterrupted reading time I hope.
One more bookish/technology note. I am doing a trial run of Feedblitz. They offer a way for readers to receive blog posts into their email inbox. With Google Reader going away soon and the desire of some readers to receive posts via email I thought I would give it a try. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how it works. Surely there must be some sort of widget that I can display on my sidebar to allow readers to sign up, but to be honest I've not yet had a chance to really explore the possibilities. Unfortunately Typepad does not offer this service and I am not sure what other reliable source does. Any help or suggestions are most welcome. But for the short term, if you'd like to sign up to receive my posts in your email inbox, please let me know. I just need an email address and then I can sign you up from the back end.
Do stop back tomorrow as I have another lost in the stacks post lined up!